Summary

• A DM went viral for a list of angrily phrased D&D rules recently, and they seem like a loser.
• The table who pushed them into this and dragged them back from their hiatus, also seem like losers.
• Any super cool strangers commenting about how they make a much better DM with their super cool friends are also losers.
• But everyone reading this is cool. Ice cool.

Recently, a long list of angrily phrased rules a DM had set forward for their D&D table went viral. There were two main reasons it was propelled into the stratosphere, beyond it having an extreme tone that invited reaction. Firstly, it was people who had never played D&D viewing this (incorrectly) as a microcosm for all DM/player relationships. Secondly, it was seasoned D&D vets dunkingꦍ on it with their usual holier-than-drow ꩲattitude.

But here’s the thing - it doesn’t matter. These rules were delivered after a hiatus, which suggests the table already broke up over a series of arguments. The fact the DM was asked back also suggests that no one at the table was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:capable of writing t🐠h🍰eir own adventures, o♔r even running a premade campaign. And the kicker, these r🌸ules were posted for the specific purpose of ridicule by the other side of the argument.

Other People's Arguments Are Not Our Business

This is basically some guy telling us how their friend is a jackass. Why do we take his word for it, an🌄d why do we care? The D&D community borders on NPCdom for how much it mindlessly repeats stock phrases; ‘no D&D is better than bad D&D’, ‘find another table’, ‘talk to your DM’, but for some reason has decided this post is worthy of our attention.

People often post for advice on D&D forums about an issue, and while it’s occasionally a lore question where the wisdom of crowds is left to rule on a disagreement, or there is a question where homebrew solutions may be required, mostly it’s just arguments. ‘This guy at my table keeps kicking me in the groin, any ideas?’. I know 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:D&🌌D can be a bastion for the socไially inept, but the vast majority of issues posted on Reddit wouldn’t even become issues if💃 people could h🎃ave basic conversations with their friends.

This post is not that. It is someone who has clearly asked a DM they do not even like to come back, solely because no one else can write or run a story, then post⛦ed the demands for doing so specifically to be dunked on. And the manner in which we have all obliged has made this DM’s💮 point for them.

How Wrong Are Those Viral D&D DM Rules?

At the risk of breaking my own rules, let’s have a look at a handful. And given this is from an argument between friends where the post comes from the other side, and not f👍rom the DM themselves, I’m ignoring the tone completely. I also don’t consider someone evil incarnate for using the f-word.

TheGamer’s profanity filter does, hence ‘the f-♌word’.

There are some no-brainers that the DM is jꦜust undoubtedly right about, and ignoring the context of these so you can tweet how you’re a much awesomer DM is pretty sad. Twitter has always been the realm of the cynical bully, but using those qualities to brag to strangers that you’re good at letting other people pretend they’re fighting dragons is loser behaviour.

In any case, those rules include ‘turn up’, &lsqu♔o;don’t be late’, ‘don’t get too drunk or high to play’, and ‘don’t take breaks every ten minutes to do drugs’. Maybe the ten minutes is exaggerated, but it’s obvious that this is a table just in it for♛ easy fun. The DM, who also has a rule about taking the game seriously and not mocking them for doing so, wants a more involved and committed game. Clearly there’s a mismatch, but the DM already identified it and left. The table asked them back because they couldn’t play otherwise.

Then there are some more subjective rules. The DM mentions that NPCs will hear snide comments made about them - in more casual groups, cracking jokes and light metagaming about each character featured is common, and I let it slide because I&rsqu🐼o;m with my friends and having fun. If I wasn’t, and a group who d👍emanded I make a toy for them wh𓄧ile they smoke pot and get wasted started ridiculing said toy, I’d probably be annoyed.

Difficulty is a similar matter. It seems the table wants big dungeons and tougher battles every time. But they also never want to die, and to travel continents, and have copious magic items with minimal effort from them. What kind of🌟 game you play is somewhat collaborative, especially with a forever DM, but I get the sense communication is not a strong suit♑ for this lot. In any case, the ‘instant death’ traps feel unnecessarily vengeful in a game where death, typically, is rare.

Aside from, again, the tone that screams ‘I donꦜ’t like you’, the only rule I have a major issue with is ‘no Guidance’. It’s such a minor spell, and while it’s a shorthand for ‘any spell I don’t like’, it&r🦹squo;s tough to square that with the hardcore insta-death, 60-second turns, and no taking back movement.

Could I do a thread on how this DM could fix some issues? Sure. (Roll in the open, that’ll make you stop wishing all your friends were dead!) But why bother when so few of these rules are what I would call outright ‘wro🧸ng’?

I don’t particularly want to defend this DM. He seems like a real a-hole (remember, profanity filters). I don’t think I’d enjoy playing with a DM so regimented in their view of the game and how it should b♔e run. But I also wouldn’t enjoy running a game for moronic burnouts either. Why is the D&D community constantly obsessed with the interpersonal problems of strangers who, very often, have zero interpersonal skills?

Maybe I’m a hypocrite - after all, I did just write a lot of words on something probably not worth a second thought. Maybe it’s our nature to comment on posts we see in the wild. I have an outlet for doing so at TheGamer, while others jus💜t have to tweet. But you don’t have to be a dweeb about it by breaking down each individua♑l rule and explaining why you (and you alone) could do it so much better.

The DM is a l🐻oser. The table is full of losers. None of these losers should be playing together, but they are, and anyone quote-tweeting unsolicited threads on why telling your friends that they’re big stupid babies and ▨you hate them is a bad idea is a loser. It’s losers all the way down. Roll some dice and forget about this one, folks.